Citrus Maxima
...cts? 3. What concentration of the extract will be most effective? 4. Is there significant difference on the rate of efficacy of Citrus maxima leaves extract as an insecticide against commercially available insecticides? C. Objectives of the Study General Objectives: To serve as reference for future research studies for scientists from every part of the world. And to be able to develop an insecticide out of Citrus maxima leaves extract. Specific Objectives: 1. To determine the efficacy of the Citrus maxima leaves extract insecticide against harmful insects. 2. To compare the efficacy of Citrus maxima leaves extract as an insecticide from commercially available insecticides in the market. 3. To utilize the plant extract as a substitute to commercial insecticides. D. Formulated Hypothesis Null Hypothesis: The control group (commercial pesticide) and the experimental group (Citrus maxima extract) do not differ with respect to the rate of efficacy against harmful insects. Research or Alternative Hypothesis: The control group (commercial insecticide) and the experimental group (Citrus maxima extract) differ with respect to the rate of efficacy against harmful insects. E. Significance of the Study The findings of this study may help us determine the physical and chemical nature of Citrus maxima leaves extract. This may also aid in determining the industrial and pharmacological significance of Citrus maxima leaves extract. The results in Insecticidal Assay may identify its bioactivities against harmful insects. This could serve as reference for scientists in their future research studies, then after a year or so, this research may be used by the nation and the whole world. CHAPTER II Review Of Related Literature PLANTS Plants are living organisms characterized by having chlorophyll for photosynthesis, cell walls of cellulose, and various types of flowers, leaves, stems, and roots. Along with other organisms, plants share the need for energy, a carbon source, water, gas exchange, reproduction, dispersal, and proper environmental conditions. Unlike other organisms, plants create the organic food and the oxygen that is vital to all other life by converting light energy into a storable and transferrable chemical energy. Plants are also under the influence of natural selection and thus have gone through periods of evolutionary change, which has led to a great diversity of forms while maintaining certain features that still define them as plants. Plants of prehistoric times make up the fossil fuels. CITRUS FRUITS Citrus fruits are the edible fruits of plants belonging to the genus Citrus and the closely related genus Fortunella, both of the family Rutaceae. The plants are spiny evergreen shrubs or trees bearing white or purplish flowers. The fruits, classed botanically as a type of berry called a hesperidium, are leathery-skinned with a fleshy interior divided into sections (locules) by parchmentlike partitions. Citrus are native to Southeast Asia and the East Indies and have been cultivated there for millennia. Most were introduced into Europe in the 12th century and are now grown in tropical and subtropical areas throughout the world, particularly in North and South America, the Mediterranean region, Australia, and South Africa. Citrus fruits contains limonene, especially d-limonene, which is a chemical used in insecticides. PUMMELO Pummelo or shaddock [Citrus grandis L. Osbeck synonym Citrus maxima (J. Burman) Merril] has been regarded as one of the ancestral species of the genus Citrus. It belongs to the family Rutaceae, Sub-family Aurantioidae, tribe Citreae and sub-tribe citrinae. Min(1997) proposed southern China as its primary centre of origin while Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Japan are secondary centres of diversity. It was introduced to West Indies(Barbados) from Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) in the sixteenth century by a Captain Shaddock and the name shaddock was given following him. In Asia the fruit is mainly grown in homestead gardens. The juicy pulp of pummelo is either eaten raw or used for juice extraction. The fruit contains vitamins C (more than Mandarin), B1, B2 and B12 and protein. The flowers, fruits and seeds are used for medicinal purposes, flowers are also used for perfume extraction and skin of the fruit can be processed into pectins. There is no world production statistics exclusively for pummelo, however, according to FAO, the total production of grapefruit and pummelo was 5.05 million tonnes in 1994 which is 6.2% of the total Citrus production of the year. The principle coun...